is formed of blocks of wood placed with the grain vertically on the
planking. The roadway is 27 feet in width. On either side is a foot-way
7 feet wide, paved with diamond-shaped slabs of Ransome stone 12 inches
square and 1½ inches thick, laid on the planking with a layer of tar
and asphalted felt interposed. The slabs in the centre of the footpath
are of a grey color with an ornamental border. The four towers carrying
the main chains of the bridge are placed outside the parapet girders;
they are placed in pairs, each pair being connected at a height of 60
feet from the platform level by an ornamental iron work. The towers are
of cast-iron and consist each of an inner column 4 feet in external
diameter, and surrounded by eight 12-inch octagonal columns placed
12 inches from the central shaft, the whole group being connected
together at intervals by disc pieces of collars of cast-iron. The
straight chains are composed of rolled iron bars, united end to end by
riveted joints and having swelled heads only at the extreme ends. The
curved cable from which the straight chains are suspended to preserve
their equilibrium is of steel wire and is 6 inches in diameter. It is
composed of a series of strands of straight wires, about 900 in number,
bound together by a coiled wire of smaller diameter. The bridge is
divided into a centre with two side openings, the former a span of 400
feet, and the latter 155 feet each. There is a clear headway of 21
feet at the centre of the bridge from the under side of the platform
to Trinity high water mark, the height being reduced to 10 feet at the
abutments. The piers carrying the four towers are formed of cast-iron
cylinders sunk down to the London clay and filled with concrete. The
foundations of the piers consist also of cast-iron cylinders, the
bottom or cutting ring being 21 feet in diameter, 4 feet 6 inches high
and 1 3/8 inches thick. The next ring above this is 5 feet high and
tapers from 21 feet at its junction with the cutting ring to 15 feet
at the top, from which point the pier is constructed with cylinders
15 feet in diameter up to the level at which the towers commence. The
thickness of the metal in the coned and upper rings is 1¼ inch. The
bottom or cutting rings are noticeable as being the largest cylindrical
castings ever made in one piece. One of the chief peculiarities in
the Albert Bridge is the method introduced by Mr. Ordish in forming
the anchorage. The arrangement is perfectly independent of the great
mass of masonry generally employed in anchorages the anchorages being
contained within an iron structure. It consists of a cast-iron cylinder
20 feet 6 inches deep and 3 feet internal diameter enlarged at the
bottom into a chamber 5 feet diameter for anchoring the chains. The
cylinder is water-tight, and is provided with a manhole and steps, so
that the anchorage can be examined at any time, and cleaned and painted
when necessary. This cylinder is set vertically in a surrounding bed
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